Lincoln's New Salem
New Salem in Menard County in the US state of Illinois is the memory of Abraham Lincoln's dedicated open-air museum . It was built in the 1930s as a reconstruction on the site of the abandoned prairie town of New Salem , where the future US president had spent his first adult years 100 years earlier.
Historic New Salem
As a settlement, New Salem, which was part of Sangamon County in the 19th century , only existed for a little more than a decade. The place was created in 1828 about 30 kilometers northwest of Springfield on the Sangamon , a left tributary of the Illinois River . That year, James Rutledge and John Camron built a flour mill on the riverbank and sold lots in the area to other settlers who soon settled there. The population increased rapidly in the first few years, but fell again after not New Salem, but neighboring Petersburg had been designated as the seat of the county. The fact that the Sangamon River was not suitable for steam navigation also contributed to the loss of importance and the rapid decline of the place. The place was deserted as early as 1840.
From 1831 to 1837, the young Abraham Lincoln lived in New Salem and took his first steps into politics there. He settled in the place after leaving home at the age of 22. At first he worked as a clerk, later also as a postman, land surveyor, general goods dealer and in other professions. In 1832 he ran for the first time, albeit unsuccessfully, for a seat in the state parliament of Illinois . The next attempt, two years later, he was elected to represent Sangamon County and held that mandate for 12 years until his election to the US House of Representatives .
In Lincoln's time, in addition to private homes and the flour mill, New Salem had a lot of other things. a. a cooper's workshop , a forge and other handicraft businesses, a wool combing shop , several shops, an inn, two doctor's offices and a schoolhouse that also served as a church. Even if there were never more than 20 to 25 families in New Salem, it was - measured by local conditions - not a farming village, but a small town that lived off trade. At times it attracted business people, service providers and craftsmen who tried their luck at the frontier , the settlement boundary. Lincoln, who had trained as a lawyer in addition to his changing professional activities in self-study, moved in 1837 from New Salem to the nearby capital Springfield, where he opened a law firm. A few years later, New Salem was abandoned.
The open air museum
Today's open-air museum New Salem extends over around 2.8 square kilometers and includes a visitor center with a museum and theater and 23 reconstructed buildings. The historic park is operated by a non-profit organization, the New Salem Lincoln League. It is open all year round and in 2006 had around 600,000 visitors.
Lincoln's New Salem was essentially built in the 1930s, in part as a job creation scheme during the Great Depression . The 23 buildings are mostly reconstructions of log houses in the style of the 1830s. The only original is the former workshop of the cooper Henry Onstot, which was demolished in 1840 and rebuilt in neighboring Petersburg. In 1922 she was transferred back to New Salem, the same place where archaeologists believe she had originally stood.
All buildings are decorated in the style of the time Lincoln lived in New Salem. Many of the furnishings and utensils are antiques from farm houses in the area. Even amateur actors in contemporary costumes bring the 1830s to life again. The reconstruction of the place is based not only on archaeological findings and contemporary documents, but also on drawings and memories of former residents, which were already collected towards the end of the 19th century.
Web links
Coordinates: 39 ° 58 ′ 42.8 ″ N , 89 ° 50 ′ 39 ″ W.